Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  With respect to the Income Tax Act specifically, personal tax credits are certainly one thing. The previous government was very fond of certain measures—the fitness tax credit, arts credit, these types of credits. We were never big fans of these measures and think, again, they play favourites.

Finance committee  One is certainly a greater ease of compliance. There are compliance costs with a complicated tax code, so making it simpler would make it easier to comply, and removing barriers in the economy, I think, is good for the economy. If you send signals that certain sectors receive certain preferences, you may be harming other sectors inadvertently, so I think by making a level playing field across sectors it benefits everyone.

Finance committee  Sorry, is your question why do we continue to have a more complicated system?

Finance committee  I think it's important that a tax would be understandable to the average citizen. We should not have to hire an expert or have software to know what we are eligible for. When we look at the number of things that are crammed into the tax code, we see there are all types of distortions.

Finance committee  Yes. I think this debate will never be fully settled. That's why our group is out here advocating that lower taxes are better for the economy. I think it's important in this case to not just focus on a single tax measure, but on the aggregate of all the measures this government is introducing.

Finance committee  Not from our supporters specifically. I think you raise an important point; tax competitiveness matters. You can't simply look at your own tax policy. The fact is that we live in a global world, and whether or not we like what happens in the United States, they are our biggest trading partner and our closest neighbour.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As you said, my name is Aaron Wudrick. I'm the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. We're very pleased to appear this evening to comment on Bill C-29, which, of course, contains various provisions to implement aspects of the 2016 federal budget.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening. My name is Aaron Wudrick. I am the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. I am very pleased to appear this evening on behalf of the CTF to comment on Bill C-26, which, as we know, deals primarily with the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan.

Human Resources committee  Sure, but again, we're not just talking about people in poverty today, we're talking about preventing people being in poverty tomorrow and in the future. If you have individuals who but for the TFSA would find themselves in poverty in 10, 20, or 30 years, I think that's a very important vehicle.

Human Resources committee  We're advocating for a return to the number it was at. Look, I think there are Canadians who are of modest means, and we count some of our supporters among them, who made great use of that tool. They thought it was an excellent tool to complement RRSPs, for example, and they were disappointed to see it go.

Human Resources committee  First of all, we are supportive of the principle that the money is better sent to parents than, for example, to a government-run day care system. We think that principle is a good one, so we supported the introduction of the UCCB, but we also supported the change made by this government.

Human Resources committee  Sure. I think, as with most debates, it comes down to a question of whether government policy can drive it or whether it's.... A lot of our advocacy is focused on leaving money in the pockets of Canadians and letting other forces do the job. Now, some people say that's sort of doing nothing.

Human Resources committee  I guess the first thing I would say is this. Some people say, well, $10,000; who can afford to put money in there if you don't have a lot to begin with? For really wealthy people, they're not looking at vehicles like the TFSA. That is not something on their radar in terms of investments.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. Look, I think you make a good point. When we talk about redistribution, it is generally assumed that it is going towards people who need the money. I think that is a fair societal goal and a proper role for government. You mentioned corporate welfare.